Identifying non-search actions based on a search query

ABSTRACT

In general, the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in methods, systems, and program products for invoking a non-search action based on a search query. A server system receives a search query from a remote computing device. The server system determines whether the search query includes reserved text that indicates an intent by a user that provided the search query to the remote computing device to perform a non-search messaging action instead of or in addition to obtaining search results. The server system provides to the computing device, in response to determining that the search query includes the reserved text, code for causing the remote computing device to display a draft communication that includes at least the search query without the reserved text, and for allowing the user to edit the draft communication before transmitting the draft communication for receipt by recipient users.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of and claims priority toU.S. application Ser. No. 13/022,755, filed on Feb. 8, 2011, entitledIdentifying Non-Search Actions Based on a Search Query”, which claimspriority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/302,955, filed onFeb. 9, 2010, entitled “Executing Actions From a Search Box,” the entirecontents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This document is generally directed toward search.

BACKGROUND

Search engines make the world's information readily available tocomputer users. Generally, search engines operate by a user typing orspeaking a query, and the search engine returning one or more searchresults that are determined to be most responsive to the query. Aneffective search engine can deliver the most relevant results inresponse to a user-submitted query so that the user can quickly obtainanswers to whatever question the user submits. Computer users oftenperform dozens of searches per day.

Computer users also frequently send messages to one another or use othercomputer applications. In certain circumstances, the applications canobtain information over the internet, or be operated over the internetas web apps. Such applications may, for instance, include electronicmail applications that allow users to store their e-mail messages oncentral server systems, and to access their messages frominternet-connected networks.

SUMMARY

This document describes techniques by which actions normally associatedwith software applications can be invoked and controlled from a queryentry area for a search input field. Various actions may be institutedfrom such a query entry area, including the sending of micro-blog posts,the sending of electronic mail messages, the posting of blog entries toa web page, and similar actions. A user may express an intent toinitiate an action rather than simply to obtain search results byincluding in a query a reserved word or character. A search front endmay then see such a character or word, and may interpret the presence ofthe character or word in the query as a signal to route the query to amessaging server or service in addition to, or instead of, to a searchengine. Other signals from the user may cause the search front end toroute content from the query to other services or servers so as to haveother actions carried out.

The search front end may cause code to be sent to the user's computer sothat the user can confirm that they would like to perform the actionthat the system interpreted their query as requesting. The user may thenconfirm the intent, or may indicate that a different action wasintended, and may also edit the message that they originally submittedwith the query, and that the system extracted from that submission. Thesystem may, along with the confirmation opportunity, provide the userwith search results directed to the message that was in the user'squery. Such search results may be helpful when the user actually didintend to enter a search query, and not perform another action. Suchresults may also be helpful in that the user could incorporate contentfrom the results or from landing pages or other resources to which theresults are directed, into the message before confirming that themessage should be sent.

In general, one aspect of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be embodied in a computer-implemented method forinvoking a non-search action based on a search query. The methodincludes receiving, by a computing device, a search query that includesa reserved term that indicates an intent by a first user that submittedthe search query to the computing device to perform a non-searchmessaging action. The method includes transmitting, by the computingdevice and to a search engine system that determines whether the searchquery includes the reserved term, the search query. The method includesreceiving, by the computing device and from the search engine system inresponse to transmission of the search query, a draft message thatincludes the search query with the reserved term removed from the searchquery. The method includes displaying, by the computing device, thedraft message. The method includes receiving, by the computing device,user input that indicates an intent of the first user to transmit thedraft message to multiple users of a social network that have requestedto receive social network posts that are authored by the first user. Themethod includes transmitting, by the computing device and to a socialnetworking system in response to receiving the user input to transmitthe draft message, the draft message so as to cause the socialnetworking system to transmit the draft message to the multiple users

Another aspect of the subject matter described in this specification canbe embodied in a computer-implemented method for invoking a non-searchaction based on a search query. The method includes receiving, at aserver system, a search query from a remote computing device. The methodincludes determining, by the server system, whether the search queryincludes reserved text that indicates an intent by a user that providedthe search query to the remote computing device to perform a non-searchmessaging action instead of or in addition to obtaining search results.The method includes providing to the remote computing device, by theserver system in response to determining that the search query includesthe reserved text, code for: (i) causing the remote computing device todisplay a draft communication that includes at least the search querywithout the reserved text, and (ii) allowing the user to edit the draftcommunication before transmitting the draft communication for receipt byrecipient users.

Additional aspects can optionally include one or more of the followingfeatures. The draft message can be displayed by the computing device inan input field. The method can include receiving user input, by thecomputing device, modifying the draft message that is displayed in theinput field. The search query may not identify the multiple users. Thecomputing device may not receive, after receiving the search query, userinput that specifies the multiple users. The method may includereceiving, by the computing device and from the search engine system inresponse to transmission of the search query, search results thatinclude search results that identify documents that are responsive tothe search query with the reserved term removed. The computing devicemay display the search results and the draft message concurrently. Themethod may include displaying by the computing device concurrently withthe display of the search results and the draft message, a userinterface element that when selected causes the computing device toreplace the concurrent display of the search results and the draftmessage with a second display of second search results that identifydocuments that are responsive to the search query with the reservedterm. The second display may not concurrently display the draft message.

The message may include providing, by the server system and to theremote computing device, second code for generating a search querysubmission input field. The search query that is received at the serversystem may have been typed into the search query submission input field.The search query may be received at the server system as a sound file.The method may include converting, by the server system, the sound fileto one or more words of text. The method may include receiving, by theserver system and from the remote computing device, a confirmation thatthe user would like the draft communication to be transmitted tomultiple users of a social network that have an acquaintanceshiprelationship in the social network with the user.

The code may further cause the remote computing device to display agraphical user interface element that, when selected, causes the draftcommunication to be transmitted to multiple users who have indicated aninterest in following posts from the user of the remote computingdevice. The search query may not identify the one or more users. Thecode may further cause the remote computing device to display,concurrently with the draft communication, first search results thatidentify documents that are responsive to the search query without thereserved text. The code may further cause the remote computing device todisplay, concurrently with the draft communication and the first searchresults, a user interface element that when selected causes the remotecomputing device to replace the display of the first search results witha display of second search results that identify documents that areresponsive to the search query with the reserved text included. The codemay further cause the remote computing device to display, concurrentlywith the draft communication and the first search results, a graphicaluser interface element that, when selected, causes the draftcommunication to be transmitted to one or more recipient users.

Another aspect of the subject matter described in this specification canbe embodied in a computer-implemented searching system. The system mayinclude a search engine to provide search results in response to searchqueries received from computer users who are located remotely from thesearch engine. The system may include a search front end programmed todetermine whether a search query received from a user indicates that theuser intended to perform a non-search messaging action instead of or inaddition to obtaining search results from the search engine. The systemmay include a messaging sub-system in communication with the searchfront end and programmed to transmit content from search queries thatthe search front end determines to have been intended to perform anon-search messaging action.

In yet another aspect, the subject matter described in thisspecification can be embodied in a computer-implemented searchingsystem. The system includes a search engine to provide search results inresponse to search queries received from computer users who are locatedremotely from the search engine. The system includes means fordetermining whether individual search queries are intended, by users whosubmit the queries, to generate search results or to invoke a non-searchmessaging action in addition to or instead of generating search results.The system includes a messaging sub-system in electronic communicationwith the means for determining and programmed to transmit content fromsearch queries that the means determines to have been intended toperform a non-search messaging action.

Additional aspects can optionally include one or more of the followingfeatures. The system may include a search results interface programmedto prepare code for generating an interface to present a proposednon-search messaging action to the user in response to receiving thesearch query from the user that the search front end determinesindicates that the user intended to perform a non-search messagingaction, and to receive user confirmation of an intent to perform thenon-search messaging action. The message may include a search pagegenerator to display search query input fields for receiving user inputof the search queries. The system may include a speech-to-text converterprogrammed to convert audible search queries received from users totextual search queries. Determining whether the search query receivedfrom the user indicates that the user intended to perform a non-searchaction may include identifying a reserved term in the search queryreceived by the search front end. The non-search action may includetransmitting text from the search queries to one or more users who areassociated with particular users who submit the search queries.

The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanyingdrawings and the description below. Other features and advantages willbe apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are screen shots of a mobile device receiving messaginginput in a search input field.

FIGS. 1C and 1D are partial screen shots of a computer receivingmessaging input in a search input field.

FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of a system within which the variousfeatures described in this document may be implemented.

FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram showing interaction between a searchengine sub-system and a messaging sub-system.

FIG. 2C is a schematic diagram showing operation of a system forreceiving action commands via a search interface.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a process for routing a message receivedthrough a search interface.

FIG. 4 is a swim lane diagram of a process for routing a messagereceived through a search interface.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of a system that may be used to implementthe systems and methods described in this document.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of computing devices that may be used toimplement the systems and methods described in this document.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This document describes systems and techniques by which users of acomputing system may perform actions other than retrieval of searchresults via a search engine interface. In particular, a user mayindicate an intention to perform a non-search action, such as by typinga reserved word or character into a search query input field (e.g., asearch input text box), and may also optionally type a message or otheraction that is associated with the activity they would like the computersystem to take. For example, the user may want to send a message (e.g.,via text message, e-mail, or micro-blog) from the search input field ofa hosted search engine (either from the home page of the search engineor from a search input field in a toolbar from the search engineprovider or another search input field associated with the provider),and may signal such an intent by starting their entered query with heletter “z” and a space. A central search engine system may interpretthis input as being directed to posting a message for the user, and mayform the message from whatever string of text the user types after thereserved character “z”.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are screen shots of a mobile device receiving messaginginput in a search input field, in a manner like that just discussed. InFIG. 1A, a user is in the process of entering text into a GOOGLE searchinput field, such as on a mobile version of the GOOGLE home page 102. Aninput method editor on the user's mobile computing device (e.g., asmartphone or app phone) has displayed a virtual keyboard 104 to assistthe user in entering a query into the search input field 106 of the homepage, which may be a standard search input field (though with theadditional functionality on the back end described in this document).

In this example, the user has typed the letter “z” followed by a space.To this point, the search engine treats the entry, for the most part, asa typical query entry and provides a list of completions or suggestionsin a drop down box below the search input field (or query entry inputfield). In this example, the entry “z gallerie” 110 is provided,indicating that other users may have searched before for “z gallerie”more often than they have searched for any other topic that begins witha “z” and a space. If the user selects that entry, the device willinitiate a search on “z gallerie.” The suggestions may also integratepast activity by the user of the device 100 also, and may weight priorsearch queries entered by that user higher than prior search queriesentered by other users.

An additional item 108 has also been displayed below the search inputfield 106 because a remote search engine service has recognized “z” asbeing a reserved character that users employ to indicate their intent tohave the system that delivers search results perform a non-searchaction. That item 108 is expressed as a hyperlink labeled “Action>>”,and its selection may cause additional information to appear aboutnon-search actions that are available to the user. For example, a listof such actions may be displayed to the user, so that the user mayselect one of the actions, and may then interact with the system toprovide additional information needed to perform the action.Alternatively, the user may simply continue typing a query in the searchinput field 106 and submit the query in an ordinary manner.

When the user does so, the display of FIG. 1B may be generated on thecomputing device 100. (The same or another action-based display can begenerated if the user selects the “Action>>” hyperlink.) Here, theoriginal home page 102 has been replaced on the device 100 with a resultpage 116 that has been generated based on the remote search engine'srecognition that the user indicated an intent to send a message in theform of a micro-blog post. The result page 116 shows an interactivecontent posting item, where the portion of the query submitted by theuser after the “z” (i.e., “loved avatar special effects”) has beeninserted as default text for a post. The text appears in an input fieldwhere the user can add to it or otherwise edit it.

Two controls 118, 120 are displayed above the input field—a firstcontrol 118 that the user may select to have the text in the input fieldposted as a micro-blog update, such as to start a conversation stream,and a second control 120 that the user can select to have the text sentto the user himself or herself. The latter option essentially implementsa “note to self” feature, where the note can be delivered as an emailmessage to the user, can be added to a collection of such notes at alocation that the user can access on-line, or by other mechanism. Thus,if a user has a quick idea he or she wants to remember, the user cansimply jot it down in a toolbar search input field that may be in frontof the user all the time (i.e., either in a complete toolbar, in asystem tray of an operating system, or in another similar, relativelypersistent location). The user can then locate a common document orsearch through messages in an email inbox in order to collect all suchthoughts.

Search entry may also occur by other modes that are essentiallypersistent (i.e., are available readily to a user for a sufficientamount of time, and in a manner, so that a typical user comes to expectthem to be readily available (e.g., without launching a new application)at all times, or at least when a browser is open or a search program islistening. Thus, a desktop search input field on a smart phone may causeinteraction in a manner like that described in this document. Similarly,voice input to a search engine may operate similarly, though theparticular syntax for speech input and typed input may need to differ.The particular syntaxes generally should be chosen so as to provideadequate usability and interaction in each of the various search queryentry modes available to a user. For example, a syntax or syntaxesshould work with voice and typed input. Also, user interaction may bemore complete where the user interacts with a web page, but lesscomplete when the user interacts with a search running under anoperating system on a user's computing device.

Referring now again to FIG. 1B, a separate post button 126, whenselected, causes the text to be posted to the user's profile. A profileis a location where various information about a user is stored and canbe accessed by other users (e.g., friends or all other users, dependingon the security settings for the profile). The profile, among otherthings, can display a list of posts submitted over time by the user.

The screen of FIG. 1B also shows a follow-up search input field 112 andsearch and selectable control. Such on-screen elements may be employedwhen the user did not really intend to create a post from his or herquery submission. The user can simply select the control to have thesame screen shown to them again, or can amend the text in input field112 and then select the control in order to have an amended submissionsent to the search system (which submission may omit the “z”, and thusgenerate a traditional search results page). A hyperlink 114 for thesubmission may also be selected by the user in order to have a searchconducted rather than an action prepared for the user. Other elements onthe screen can provide the user with other options to submit the queryalso.

The post by the user, as with most any post by the user—particularly ona mobile computing device—may be correlated to a location of the user.In this example, element 124 provides the user with an opportunity toidentify the venue at which they are located so that their post can betagged with that venue and associated with it. In this example, thedevice 100 has provided GPS coordinates to the remote search system,which has in turned inferred that the venue of the user is the GOOGLEcampus in Mountain View, Calif. If the user confirms the venue byclicking on it or on the caret to at the element's right edge, the postwill then be tagged with that location or venue. Thus, for example, anicon may appear on a map view of a messaging application used by someonewho is “following” the user in a social networking application, and suchother users can click on the icon to see the user's post. Also, in thismanner, posts relating to particular venues (especially restaurants,bars, and similar venues) may be organized and viewed by the venueitself.

FIGS. 1C and 1D are partial screen shots of a computer receivingmessaging input in a search input field. The example shown by thesefigures is similar to the example of FIGS. 1A and 1B, but is presentedon what is presumably a larger display, such as on a browser beingpresented on a display of a desktop computer. Although a separate searchinput field outside the browser presentation is not shown here, the textdiscussed here could be submitted to the search system via such adifferent type of search input field.

FIG. 1C shows the familiar GOOGLE search home page, where a user hasentered the query “z loved avatar special effects” into the search inputfield 130—just as in the mobile computing example above. FIG. 1D showsthe results page delivered to the user when the user submits the query.Here, the text of the query with the reserved character z removed, hasbeen presented in a search edit input field 136 so that the user canchoose to submit the text (either with or without further editing)simply as a search.

In addition, though, the presence of the reserved “z” character in thequery has indicated to the search system that the user might want topost to a social messaging service the message that followed the “z.”Thus, a communication element 132 is displayed above a list of searchresults 134. The element 132 takes the same form as the element shown inFIG. 1B, though it could also take other forms when the systemdetermines that a user is on a larger-screened, non-mobile device. Thefunctionality of the element 132 is like that described above for FIG.1B.

In this desktop example, because there is additional room on the screen,the system has also delivered a list of search results 134. Such a listmay enable the user to review the results without having to takeadditional actions if the user really did intend to conduct a search,and just happened to enter the reserved character. Also, even if theuser did intend to perform the non-search activity, the presence of thesearch results 134 can enhance that activity. For example, a user mayfind information about the query topic that complements the text theyhad planned to send, and may use the search results 134 to add thatinformation to their post. As one example, the user can easily paste aURL for one of the search results into their post or into an area ofelement 132. The system may then extract information from the page atthe URL that is believed to be highly relevant, such as headings, pagetitles, and images, and may present the extracted information to theuser. The user may then select certain of the items from the page to addto his or her post. In this manner, the combination of search activitiesand messaging activities may be used to conveniently generate a messagethat is much richer than the user could generate simply by typing apost.

Also, although the examples here are directed toward posting of an eventfor consumption by followers of the user, other actions may also beinitiated from a search input field in manners similar to those shownhere. For example, a user could send an email to a friend from thesearch input field by typing a syntax such as “z friend@example.com Bob,do you want to have lunch?” If the user could not remember the fullemail address for the friend, they could type “z @friend Bob, do youwant to have lunch?”, and the system could identify other usersassociated with the user (e.g., they are in the user's contact list, arefollowers of the user in a micro-blogging system, or are friends in asocial networking system) who have the name “friend” and could add theircontact information to an email. In a follow-up screen like that shownin FIG. 1D, a mostly-completed email message may be shown to the user inthe space occupied by element 132, and the user may change the recipientof the email, the text of the email or other information.

The syntax of the submitted query may also expressly indicate theactivity that a user wants to invoke. For example, the letter “z” mayprecede intended micro-blog posts, the letter “e” may precede intendedemail transmissions, and other reserved letters may precede otheractions.

The system may also identify which action a user indicates, from among aplurality of actions that could be indicated by a user submission to asearch input field, using the context of the other parameters that theuser submits. For example, if the message submitted by the user is asimple declaration, the system may infer that the user intends amicro-blog post. If the message includes a personal name, the systemmight infer that the user intends to send an email message (under a ruleof thumb that personal names are likely to be private in nature). If themessage includes a keyword that is highly linked to a particular servicethat the system provides, the message may be interpreted as beingdirected to an action for that service.

Alternative desktop presentations (as opposed to mobile presentations)may also be used. For example, the interaction with a user who appearsto be intent on performing a non-search-related action may occur througha suggestion box that pops up or down from a search input field as auser enters search terms. If the user enters a reserved term thatindicates an intent to perform an action, the suggestion input field—inaddition to displaying a list of possible completed submissions—can alsoinclude selectable entries relating to the actions. For example, thesuggestion input field could list, at its top or bottom, “post thisentry” and “note to self” so that when the user has typed the messagethat he or she wants to type, the user could simply select one of thoseoptions to have their message sent, and without having to wait for aseparate page to be transmitted and generated. A submission buttonand/or other controls could also be generated and displayed within thesuggestion input field.

Using the techniques shown in FIGS. 1A through 1D then, a user may beprovided with a mechanism by which to achieve actions using a hostedcomputer system that provides search services and a variety of otherservices. The search input field for such a service may be ubiquitousfor the user, and may be displayed in many different instances to theuser, including via persistent display in an operating system of acomputing device. A user may thus employ the search input field toperform non-search activities, so that the user can avoid having tochange the focus of their computing device to computer applications forsuch other activities, or have to wait to launch such applications. Thesyntax for invoking such activities may also be made simple so thatinvocation of the activities is relatively simple and easy for a vastarray of users to remember and employ. Also, appropriate feedback may besought from the user, particularly where the system would not want toinvoke an activity that the user did not truly intend, so thatunfortunate messages are not accidentally sent by the user.

Various other non-search actions may also be initiated by a user througha search query submission input field. For example, a user may add atask to their or another user's task list (e.g., by typing “z finishversion 2 of software project”), or perhaps using “t” as the reservedcharacter for “Task.” In a similar manner, a calendar event may be addedto the user's on-line calendar—such intent by the user may be inferredby the presence of a date in the user's submission, and a general syntaxof the submission that indicates the submission is intended to be for acalendar rather than a message to other users. Also, a simple textmessage may be sent to a single other recipient. In addition, a prefixother indication may be included for search-related actions, such as tosearch only materials related to the particular user (e.g., searchingthe user's word processor documents stored on-line, or searching theuser's contact list). A user could also use such formatting to begin thecreation of a restaurant reservations (e.g., typing “res Olive Garden 7pm tonight for 2”)—a results screen may then be delivered to the user tolet them finish provided information necessary to complete thereservation. Moreover, a user could initiate a telephone call such as aVoIP call from the search input field, such as by typing “z 555-1212” or“call mom.”

Such submission may also be supported for voice-submitted queries. Insuch a situation, the user's device or a remote search service mayinitially determine from the user's voice commands whether the userintends to conduct a traditional search, or instead to perform anon-search action. Various operation syntax modes may be employed forvarious situations, particularly to address both typed and spoken input.For example, in a verbose mode (intended for spoken input) with resultspage confirmation, the syntax can take the form [verbose actiontrigger]+[action arguments and payload]. One example is “Note to selfpick up milk and bread,” where the first three words are the actiontrigger and the remaining words are the action arguments and payload. Inother examples, the action arguments may include time/date for acalendar entry, a recipient for email, and the like.

A second mode may involve a fully qualified syntax with results pageconfirmation. Such a mode may take the form “z”+[action]+[actionarguments and payload.” An example includes “z note pick up bread andmilk” or “n pick up bread and milk,” where “z” indicates an intent toperform a non-search action, and “note” or “n” indicate that the type ofaction is to record a private note for the user who is submitting thequery or command.

A third mode is an abbreviated syntax mode, like that discussed above inFIGS. 1A through 1D, in the form “z”+[action arguments and payload]. Anexample includes “z pick up milk and bread”. The user may then be showna ONE BOX for performing the action that was inferred by the user, andthe user can disambiguate the action that the user intended. The defaultaction can be inferred from the payload content or can simply be thelast action the user used. In this mode, the user does not have toremember action parameters, though the user may be required to provideadded follow-up information because the user's intent is more ambiguousin this mode than in the others. In other situations, a payload mayinclude a term that is reserved as an action term, and a user may beprovided with an opportunity to confirm what they intended the term torepresent.

In a fourth mode, various custom user interfaces may be implemented. Forexample, in a desktop presentation, a user may be presented with variousoptions form which to select immediately after they have typed “z” orsome other reserved preceding term. The user can then confirm theaction, such as right in a suggestion drop down box, and may addparameters and a payload in an interactive manner. Such user interactionmay then be formatted automatically on their device and forwarded to aremote search service, which may in turn parse the submission apart andforward it to the appropriate non-search services.

In addition, the triggering syntax may differ depending on whether theuser is submitting a query via typed input or voice input. For example,with typed input, the user may type a single reserved character followedby a space—an action that is relatively easy to remember and easy toinvoke. Such a character or reserved word should generally be selectedas one that does not typically start a typed query. However, for voiceinput, full words may be used as triggering signals, since such wordscan be much easier to speak than they are to type. As one example, auser who is presenting orally to a voice search system may start asubmission by speaking “post buzz,” and then following by speaking thecontent of a message they would like to post to a micro-bloggingservice.

FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of a system 200 within which the variousfeatures described in this document may be implemented. In general, thesystem 200 permits various users to post, review, and comment on variousactivity streams of information, within a social networking framework.For example, a user may make a micro-blogging post about a recenthappening in the user's life or about a news article the user recentlyread. That post may be forwarded to other users who have chosen tofollow the first user (who may be an individual or an organization).Those other users may see the post using a stream reader, or the postmay be displayed in their email applications (e.g. either in line withtheir regular email messages or under a separate tab). Those users maychoose to comment on the post, and other users may also comment on thepost or comment on the comments of other users. Such comments may beincluded and shown in the various users email application even if theywere made after the post was originally connected to the emailapplication. Thus, the various types of feedback may be made availableto each user conveniently in one place. Users may also see posts relatedto other users my visiting profile pages for those other users, and mayalso go to their own profile pages or to their stream pages to see allof the posts and comments for posts to which they are subscribed.

The various posts, and comments on posts, are managed in the system 200by an activity streams backend 202, which is in charge of implementingbusiness logic that defines the manner in which various submissions tothe system 200 will be handled. The activity streams are characterizedby activities, which are the subjects of posts (e.g., micro-blog posts)that users submit to the system 200, and various comments directedtoward those activities. For example, a user may post an activityregarding a web page they are currently viewing by pasting a URL of thepage into a posting page. Such action may cause the system 200 to gatherimportant information form the URL, including images displayed on thepage, headings, labels for images, or topical terms that describe atopic of the page (e.g., as previously determined by analysis of thewords on the page, such as using AdSense analysis of the page). Thesystem 200 may also obtain location information, such as the currentlocation of the user, and/or a venue with which the user is mostcurrently associated (e.g., that the user checked into recently oridentified as a venue in which the user is located).

The activity streams back-end 202 also implements logic for determiningwhat users are to receive posts, comments on posts, and other portionsof streams in the system 200. In particular, users who have subscribedto receive posts form other users may be provided with posts when theylog into the system 200, users may nominate other users to receivecopies of streams when those other users would not ordinarily beincluded in the streams (e.g., by typing in identifiers for those otherusers when reviewing a post), and users may send streams directly toeach other, among other things.

The feed reader back end 204 manages storage of posts and related datafor the system 200. The feed reader back end 204 may rely on variouslevels of activity storage 246 to store posts, comments, on posts, andother information needed to construct streams for users when theyrequest information from system 200. As with the other components shownin this figure, the feed reader back end 204, though shown as a singleblock, can be implemented using a number of different servers or serversub-systems. Likewise, the activity storage 246 can be implementedacross a number of databases and database types, and across a variety ofservers and server sub-systems.

When posts or other updates are received by the activity stream back-end202, they are formatted and provided to update pump 208. The update pump208 is responsible for provided notices about newly-posted informationto various services that may need such information. It acts, in effect,as a router and distributor of information relating to the system 200.For example, a mail server 214 may include functionality for integratingthe display of streams, and may thus need to know about new posts sothat users of a mail client can be shown immediately when newinformation is posted. In a similar manner, a search engine 230 mayprovide search results to users that include real-time updatinginformation from various posts that users are supplying to the system,and can receive such updated information by interacting with the updatepump 208 via understood APIs and remote procedure calls (RPCs) where thetwo components are sub-components of a larger organization-wide system.

Various web front-ends are provided to permit the system 200 communicateover a network 206, such as the internet (and adjacent supportingnetworks). For example, the mail server 214 may provide typicalweb-based electronic mail functionality, though with the integration ofposts and comments into users' in boxes, via a mail client 220. Forexample, streams may show up as discrete messages in user's inbox, andmay be updated in real time to include the latest comments on thestreams and originating posts for the streams. Such content may beactive, in that a user may be allowed to interact with it substantiallyto a level that they could if they were reviewing the streams in adedicated stream reader. For example, selectable controls may beprovided with a stream that is displayed by the email client 220, and auser may choose one in order to post a comment to be added to a stream,without having to leave the context of the message within the emailclient 220.

A profile server 210 generates code for representing user profiles suchas profile 222 of user John Smith. The profile page may take the form ofa standard feed page from a social networking site, arranged with a listof posts and comments from other users in reverse chronological order.In a similar manner, an activities front end 212 can generate a similarfeed for a user's feed page 224, here for a user named Susie User. Theprofile page 222 and the feed page 224 may be very similar to eachother, and can present content similar to that presented as part of aposting or micro-blogging section of mail client 220. In one example,the profile page 222 is what third parties see when they look at theuser's account, while the feed page 224 is what the user himself orherself sees.

A search engine 230 and associated search front end 218 may provide adifferent sort of functionality for the system 200. Specifically, thesearch front end 218 may allow users to provide posts or comments fromnon-traditional sources, such as search input fields, e.g., on a searchweb page or in a search input field on a toolbar installed on theirmachines an operating in concert with their web browsers. Such posts orcomments may be submitted by users and may be received by the searchfront end in a standard manner, just as search requests are. The intentof a user to submit a post rather than a search query (or in addition toa search query) may be determined by syntactical analysis of thesubmission. In one example, if a query is preceded by the letter “z”,with a space after it (see screen 228)—a construct that is seldomsubmitted as a real search query—the system may parse the submissionapart and assume, from the syntax, that the user intends to post theremainder of the submitted query as a post to their social network.

Such a post may be made immediately or after confirming with thesubmitting user that they would like to make a posting. For example, asearch results page 226 may be generated that contains actual searchresults for the submitted query (whether with or without the preceding“z”) generated by the search engine 230 using data from index 238 in aconventional manner, and may be displayed below an area that shows theuser the form of a proposed post and selectable controls by which theuser can edit the post and can then confirm an intent to post theinformation to friends, followers, or others. The post may then beforwarded by the search front end 218 to the activity streams backend202, along with identifying information for the user (e.g., a user IDidentified from a cookie on the user's computing device when the user islogged onto a broader service that implements the system 200).

The search results and other information may be accompanied by targetedadvertisements directed to the search query or other similarinformation, such as profile information, the text of posts or commentsby a user, the text of posts or comments of users who have arelationship with a user (e.g., as friends, followers, or users that thefirst user follows). Such advertisements may be served, through thesearch front end 218, or the other front ends 210, 212, 214 to users ofthe system 200 and may be targeted using techniques like those employedin GOOGLE ADWORDS OR ADSENSE. Such serving of advertisements may dependon ad data in database 234, which may include information aboutadvertisers, the text and other content for the advertisements, bidprices submitted by the various advertisers, and other relevantinformation needed to serves advertisements that are directed to usersand/or streams of information directed from or to the users.

Various location-based services may be integrated with posts orcomments, such as by identifying the locations (e.g., latitude/longitudecoordinates) or venues (e.g., stores, arenas, bars, or restaurants) fromwhich posts or comments are made. Such services are provided in thisexample system 200 by a location server 242 and geo service 244. Thelocation server 242 generally provides information about venues or otherlandmarks in response to receiving location information about a user ofsystem 200. For example, when a user submits a post, geo-coordinates forthe user may be provided with the post (e.g., via GPS functionality onthe user's mobile computing device) or may be determined for the user bythe system 200 (e.g., via cell tower or access point identification ortriangulation). The geo-location information may be an estimatedlatitude and longitude of the mobile computing device and informationidentifying an accuracy of the estimation. The location server 242 maybe made available through an API to various other components of thesystem 200.

The location server 242 may use such geo-location information toidentify one or more venues (e.g., stores, restaurants, or bars) in thegeneral location of the user, may use proximity of the user to eachvenue and other signals (e.g., popularity of each venue as determinedfrom search queries submitted with the venue name, check-ins at thevenue by users of the system 200, a volume of activity associated withposts from the venue, a reputation of a post's author, for example,through number of subscribers, a volume of comments on posts, or asimilarly determined reputation of the subscribers) to provide a rankedlist of venues in the geographic area that the user may be in. The usermay be presented with a single suggestion for a venue or severalsuggested venues. The user may then select one such venue, and thatvenue may be associated with the post when other users review it. Forexample, the post may be accompanied by meta data indicating that thepost was “Posted from Dive Bar,” and other users may select the name“Dive Bar” to see additional information about the venue, includingother posts from the venue, ratings of the venue, streams that belong tothe venue (e.g., if a manager of the venue has made the venue a user ofthe system 200) and other similar information.

The location server 242 may obtain information that it needs to providesuch functionality from various external services, such as geo service244. Geo service 244 may be a service that communicates via standardAPIs to receive location information (e.g., lat/long coordinates) and toprovide more advanced information in response. The more advancedinformation may include a street address that is determined to beassociated with the lat/long coordinates (e.g., a street address that isnearest to a particular location represented by the lat/longcoordinates). The more advance information may also include a list ofvenue names that are geographically near the particular location, streetaddresses for the venues, descriptive information for the venues, maptiles that are associated with the particular location, and a relevancescore for each venue. The relevance score for each venue may identifyhow relevant the particular venue is based on any combination of (i) thereceived location information, (ii) an accuracy of the received locationinformation, and (iii) a distance between the venue and a locationidentified by the received location information.

Other components may interact with the components already described toprovide additional functionality for the system 200. For example, acrawler 250 may crawl various posts and comments for the purpose ofindexing the content in the system 200, so that, for example, searchengine 230 may readily deliver search results that include the latestpostings by users to the system 200. Also, spam server 248 maycommunicate with the activity streams backend 202 and/or the update pump208 to identify posts or comments that may be inappropriate (e.g.,offensive, abusive, or otherwise inappropriate), duplicative, deceptive(e.g., in which one user poses as another user), and to actappropriately with respect to such content (e.g., providing forautomatic and/or manual review of the content and perhaps removing thecontent from the system 200 or making the content hidden).

Finally, a recommendation server 240 may be provided with any newactivity or post that is submitted to the system 200 (e.g., via theactivity streams back-end 202). The recommendation server 240 may writeback to the activity streams backend 202 about the number of people whoshould receive the activity. Such information may be saved so that thenext time a message is sent out about the activity (e.g., a comment onthe activity), the new recommended users also get the activity. Aquality score can be computed when determining what users should receivean activity, and the score can be determined by factors such as thedistance of relationship between a user and other users who have postedto or recommended an activity, interests of a user as identified in theuser's profile (e.g., the user is a member of a classic cars group in asocial network, and thus is more likely to receive notices aboutactivities relating to classic cars), or interests as identified byposts or other submissions that the user makes, users or activities thatthe user follows, and the like. A quality threshold may be set by therecommendation server 240 in order to maintain an adequate level ofrecommendations (not too many and not too few).

Using the components described here, then, the system 200 may providefor integration of various modes of posting and receiving content thatis provided in streams, such as micro-blog posts and comments on suchposts. Users may post in various ways, including directly into searchinput field on search pages or toolbars, so that such users may be moretightly integrated into systems provided by the providers of the pagesor toolbars, and may provide posts in contexts with which they arealready very familiar. Also, the users may review posts and othercontent in their email client, also in a manner that is already familiarto them and does not require them to leave a familiar application inorder to review such posts. Moreover, the content may be rich for theusers, such that it may include information about locations and venuesat those locations (from which a reader of the content may obtainadditional information, such as from hyperlinks provided in posts), andthe users may respond to posts in-line, such as from their emailapplications. In all these, ways the system 200 may provide acommunication facility that allows a user simpler and more completeinteraction with friends and with other users, and may increase thelevel of knowledge that is made available to the users of the system200.

FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram showing interaction between a searchengine sub-system and a messaging sub-system. The example systemincludes a search front end 258 that is in communication with amessaging system 262. The search front end 258 and the messaging system262 may be executed by a server system. Each of these components may beimplemented on separate server sub-systems at a particular organization.For example, the search front end 258 may generally be used by theorganization to receive search queries from users and to provide searchresults (e.g., web, news, image, or other results) in a familiar manner.The messaging system 262 may implement various standard messagingservices, such as electronic mail, text messaging, chat, and socialmessaging services (e.g., micro-blogging in which users subscribe tofollow other users or objects in the system, and thus to receive postsfrom those other users or objects in a stream of content).

As shown, the search front end 258 serves as an interface between asearch page and search input field 254 presented on a client computingdevice that is remote from the search front end 258 (which may beimplemented using many servers working in cooperation with each other),and various services and server systems at the organization thatpresents search services. Normally, queries are received from the searchinput field 254 (which may be at the organization's web site, or viatoolbars provided by the organization), are processed by the searchfront end 258, such as to rewrite the queries to make them more likelyto produce quality search results, and provide to a search engine 270.Such processing may involve breaking up the search tasks into smallergroups and then assembling content and search results received back fromvarious parts of the system. In addition, the rewritten query may alsobe sent to an ad server system 272, and ads may be returned to the frontend 258 for presentation to a user, either with search results 256 orotherwise.

In this example, the search front end 258 is provided with atrigger/analyzer 260 that is programmed to parse incoming queries anddetermine whether those queries are directed to non-search actions. Forexample, as described above, a query may be preceded by a reservedcharacter or word, and the trigger/analyzer may cause content from thequery to be redirected to a service other than the search engine 270,such as to the messaging system. In some implementations, thetrigger/analyzer 260 may also cause content from the query to be routedto the search engine in addition to the messaging system. In certainsituations, the trigger/analyzer may identify a system, from amongmultiple services that are external to the search service, thenon-search service to which the user's input is directed. Such adetermination may be made, for example, by analyzing the content of asubmission or the format of the submission, or a combination of both.

The information sent to the messaging system 262 may take a variety offorms. For example, the search front end 258 may simply obtain anidentifier for the user of the search input field 254 (e.g., that wasstored as a cookie for the user) and may send that along with themessage the user included in the submitted query (with the reserved wordor character removed). Where the submission is determined, for example,to indicate an intent to send an email, the search front end 258 mayperform additional formatting of the message, such as by parsing anaddress of the email recipient apart from the text of the email, andsending them separately according to an established API to the messagingsystem 262 (which communication may occur, for example, using a remoteprocedure call (RPC)).

In this example, communications sent via a search query input field 254may take three different forms. First, a message may be sent to the user266 who is submitting the query content, such as in a “note to self”manner. The syntax for such a message may include the provision of theletter “n” or the word “note” in a query, such as after a reservedcharacter or word. Second, a message may be sent directly to one or moreother users who are specified in the submitted query. The syntax of sucha submission may list the intended recipients, perhaps highlighted bypreceded identifiers for the recipients with a character such as the “@”character. The identifiers for the recipients may be complete (e.g.,they may be full email addresses for each user) or incomplete. Thesystem may then resolve incomplete identifiers into completeidentifiers. For example, if the submitted query includes the term“@joe,” and the user has in his or her contacts list a friend named“Joe,” the system may resolve the parameter to Joe's full email address.Such resolution may occur, for example, by the messaging system 262 orby the search front end 258.

In a third type of communication, a submitted message received from thesearch input field 254 may be broadcast to users who are “followers” ofthe submitting user. Such a messaging may be the default treatment ofmessages that are submitted to the search front end 258 with a reservedcharacter or word. Such a communication mode is discussed above withrespect to FIGS. 1A to 1D.

Geographic location-related information may also be incorporated intothe messages provided by the system here. In particular, a locationsystem 274, which may be implemented similarly to the location server242 and geo service 244 of FIG. 2A, may provide for the geo-coding ofmessages, and particularly of broadcast posts, in the system. Forexample, when the search front end provides a confirmation screen to auser with search results 256, the system may make an estimate of theuser's current location or venue, and may ask the user to confirm thatlocation or venue or to select another. The system may also ask the userto consent to having the location associated with their communication,so that recipients of the communication can see from where it was sent.

The location system 274 and the search front end 258 may also refer to asystem of map servers 276 in order to provide richer graphicalpresentation of location information. For example, when a user'slocation is being estimated, the search front end may serve to thesearch results 256 page a map showing the general area around the userso that the user can more accurately indicate his or her location, andcan then optionally be presented with a list of venues at that locationfrom which the user can select.

The general operation of the system can be better understood by trackingan example query submission by a user of the search input field 254. Astring of characters may initially be received in the search input field254, and may be transmitted by a computer client to the servers of thesearch front end 258. Along with other operations performed on thereceived query string, the trigger/analyzer 260 may parse the submissionto determine whether a trigger indicating an intent to perform anon-search action is indicated in the submission. If such a trigger isidentified, the search front end 258, either alone or in combinationwith the messaging system 262, may prepare a search results 256 page tointeract with the user in performing the non-search action. For example,the search front end 258 may submit lat/long information received fromthe user's computer device (or IP address information received with thequery) to the location system 274, which may return a list of venues atthat location. The entries on the list and the ordering of the list maydepend, for example, on how close the user is to each venue, the generalpopularity of the venue (e.g., as determined by general query logs andthe number of times the venue appears in those logs). The locationsystem may further obtain graphical map data from the map servers 276 inorder to provide a more complete picture of the user's location.

The search front end 258 may then assemble a search results 256 page,which may include an element by which a user can edit whatever actionwas inferred by the system, and may also confirm that the action shouldbe carried out. In addition, in appropriate circumstances, the user maybe shown location information and may confirm whether they would like tochange the information, and whether they would like it included in theirchosen action. Moreover, in appropriate circumstances, classic searchresults may be returned to the user with all of this other informationso that the user may review the results if they did not intend anon-search action or if they want to incorporate content associated withthe results into their action.

FIG. 2C is a schematic diagram showing operation of a system forreceiving action commands via a search interface. The search front end258 and messaging system 262 of FIG. 2B are generally similar to searchfront end 280 and messaging sub-system 282. In this example, the searchfront end 280 is seen in communication with a posting user 294, who issomeone who is registered with the system that provides search andmessaging functionality, and is interacting through a persistent searchsubmission mechanism such as a search input field or a voice searchinterface. The messaging sub-system 282 in turn communicates withvarious messaging applications 296. Thus, for example, a messagereceived from user 294 via search front-end 280 can be routed tomessaging sub-system 282, and then, based on the type of message theuser intended to send, may be provided, with appropriate meta data tothe proper messaging application.

A number of example components in the search front end 280 and themessaging sub-system may be used to provide functionality like thatdiscussed elsewhere in this document. For example, a query parser 284may be used to break a received query into its constituent parts. As oneexample, a header received with the query may be stripped off, and theactual text entered by the user 294 may be isolated. That text may thenbe provided to trigger logic 287, which may be programmed to analyzetext or speech submitted by a user to determine whether the user 294intended non-search actions to be performed with their input. Suchtrigger logic may be as simple as looking for a particular leadingreserved character or word, or may be more complex and involve analysisof the syntax and wording of the full user submission. When the triggerlogic 287 determines that the user intended a message-based action,relevant information may be forwarded to the messaging sub-system 282.For example, as shown in the figure, the search front end 280 may sendto the messaging sub-system 282 a message type (e.g., post, email,etc.), a user ID (which may be determined from a user cookie that can bestored in cookie storage 285 until it is needed), and the text of themessage itself. Such information may be provided in a single string andmay be parsed by the messaging sub-system, such as in a search-sideinterface that is responsible for communicating with the search frontend 280.

The messaging sub-system may then return information, such asinformation needed to building a page or screen on which the user 294may confirm to send the message. First, a message builder 290 mayidentify the relevant fields in a message that need to be filled out andmay gather information for such fields (e.g., taking the message fromthe user's query, and identifying a recipient of a message that matchesa parameter submitted in the query). In addition, a location resolver292 may provide a list of possible venues that match a location for theuser 294.

The messaging sub-system 282 may then provide information back to thesearch front end 280 so that the results interface may assembleinformation like that shown in FIGS. 1B and 1D above, and may providecode for generating such pages to the user's computing device. Once theuser has completed confirming the intent to send a message, themessaging applications interface 293 may be provided with the relevantinformation needed to send the messages, may format such information fortransmission to a messaging application, and may select, from theplurality of possible messaging applications, the application thatshould send the message.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a process for routing a message receivedthrough a search interface. In general, the process involvesidentifying, in a search query (whether typed or spoken), a user intentto initiate a non-search action, such as sending a message from a searchinput field. The process then involves obtaining the necessaryinformation to carry out the non-search action, and causes thenon-search action to be completed.

The process begins at box 302, where a user-submitted query is received.Such a query may be received in a familiar manner at a public searchengine. The query may include query text, and may also have beenprovided automatically with information that identifies the user whosubmitted the query, and a location of the computing device on which thequery was entered.

At box 304, the query is parsed. For example, header information mayinitially be removed from the query. Other parsing may also occur andthe actual text of the query, which was submitted by the user, may beextracted. At box 306, such text is analyzed (and such text may be aspeech-to-text conversion of a submitted voice query) to determinewhether the text of the query is in a special syntax that indicates auser intent to have non-search actions performed. For example, theprocess may parse out the first two characters entered by the user, ormay convert the first word or words spoken by the user, and may comparethem to a white list of terms that are accepted triggers for non-searchactions.

If such a syntax is not identified, the query may simply be sent to asearch engine, and the search results (and accompanying ads) may bereturned to the user in a traditional manner. If the syntax isidentified, however, a message suggestion may be provided to the user.For example, the text that the user submitted may be organized andpresented as the body of a message to be sent. The user may then declineto send the message, may select a different mode by which to send themessage, and may edit the message and any relevant parameters of themessage before sending it, by providing a user confirmation at box 310.

At box 312, the message is sent by way of the determined mode ofcommunication. For example, if the user simply confirms that they wantto send the message, it will be sent by the mode initially inferred bythe system. If the user changes the mode (e.g., if the system initiallysuggests a micro-blog post, and the user changes it to “note to self”),then the message can be sent by the selected mode. Where the action issomething other than communication of a message entered into the searchinput field, the questions asked of the user and the actions taken inresponse to the user's answers may vary depending on the particularimplementation.

FIG. 4 is a swim lane diagram of a process for routing a messagereceived through a search interface. The process here is similar to thatdiscussed with respect to FIG. 3, but shows three example sub-systemsthat can cooperate to permit a computer user to initiate non-searchactions from a search interface (e.g., a search input field on a screenor a “listening” search input field in a voice-controlled system, wheresearch-directed user submissions need to be distinguished fromnon-search-related user submissions).

The process here begins at box 400, where a search client (e.g., a webbrowser operating on a portable computing device) requests a search pagefrom a group of search servers (e.g., the page at www.google.com), andthe servers serve the page in a conventional manner (box 402). At box404, a user has entered text into a search input field on the searchpage according to a “coded” syntax, and the client submits the codedquery to the search servers. The query in this example is “coded”because the user has included a “tell” to indicate that they want theserver system to give them functionality instead of, or in addition to,standard search results that are directed to the text entered by theuser.

The search servers then receive the query (box 406), parse it apart in afamiliar manner (box 408), and identify the syntactic flag or “tell” inthe query. Such a flag or tell may include, for example, a start to thequery of a particular single letter followed by a space. At box 412, thesearch servers determine a communication mode for the user's submission.For example, the value of the flag may indicate such a mode (“z” forpost, “e” for email, etc.), or other techniques may be used to make sucha determination. Alternatively, no such determination needs be made, andthe user can be asked to identify the appropriate mode.

At box 414, the query is submitted by the search servers to themessaging servers. In this example, the messaging servers cooperate withthe search servers to prepare a presentation by which the user is askedto confirm that he or she wants to send such a message. The messagingservers then prepare code for a page that asks the user to confirm thatthey want to submit the action of communicating. Such information ispassed to the search servers, which in turn generate a results page (box418) for the user, which may include the query submission code from box416, in addition to actual search results, ads, formatting for the pageor application, and other such content.

The search client then displays the results page at box 420, and theuser confirms his or her intent to send the communication at box 422.The user may also edit the message during this process. Once the userhas confirmed an intent to send the message, the messaging serverscauses the communication to be sent according to the parameters inferredby the process and those provided explicitly and directly by the user.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a conceptual diagram of a system that may beused to implement the systems and methods described in this document isillustrated. In the system, mobile computing device 510 can wirelesslycommunicate with base station 540, which can provide the mobilecomputing device wireless access to numerous hosted services 560 througha network 550.

In this illustration, the mobile computing device 510 is depicted as ahandheld mobile telephone (e.g., a smartphone, or application telephone)that includes a touchscreen display device 512 for presenting content toa user of the mobile computing device 510 and receiving touch-based userinputs. Other visual, auditory, and tactile output components may alsobe provided (e.g., LED lights, a speaker for providing tonal,voice-generated, or recorded output, or vibrating mechanisms for tactileoutput), as may various different input components (e.g., keyboard 514,physical buttons, trackballs, accelerometers, gyroscopes, andmagnetometers).

Example visual output mechanism in the form of display device 512 maytake the form of a 3.7 or 4.3 inch LED or AMOLED display with resistiveor capacitive touch capabilities, for displaying video, graphics,images, and text, and coordinating user touch inputs locationally withthe displayed information so that user contact above a displayed itemmay be associated with the item by the device 510. The mobile computingdevice 510 may take alternative forms also, including as a laptopcomputer, a tablet or slate computer, a personal digital assistant, anembedded system (e.g., a car navigation system), a desktop personalcomputer, or a computerized workstation.

An example mechanism for receiving user-input includes keyboard 514,which may be a full qwerty keyboard or a traditional keypad thatincludes keys for the digits ‘0-9’ ‘*’ and ‘#.’ The keyboard 514receives input when a user physically contacts or depresses a keyboardkey. User manipulation of a trackball 516 or interaction with a trackpadenables the user to supply directional and rate of rotation informationto the mobile computing device 510 (e.g., to manipulate a position of acursor on the display device 512).

The mobile computing device 510 may be able to determine a position ofphysical contact with the touchscreen display device 512 (e.g., aposition of contact by a finger or a stylus). Using the touchscreen 512,various “virtual” input mechanisms may be produced, where a userinteracts with a graphical user interface element depicted on thetouchscreen 512 by contacting the graphical user interface element. Anexample of a “virtual” input mechanism is a “software keyboard,” where akeyboard is displayed on the touchscreen and a user selects keys bypressing a region of the touchscreen 512 that corresponds to each key.

The mobile computing device 510 may include mechanical or touchsensitive buttons 518 a-d. Additionally, the mobile computing device mayinclude buttons for adjusting volume output by the one or more speakers520, and a button for turning the mobile computing device on or off. Amicrophone 522 allows the mobile computing device 510 to convert audiblesounds into an electrical signal that may be digitally encoded andstored in computer-readable memory, or transmitted to another computingdevice. The mobile computing device 510 may also include a digitalcompass, an accelerometer, proximity sensors, and ambient light sensors.

An operating system may provide an interface between the mobilecomputing device's hardware (e.g., the input/output mechanisms and aprocessor executing instructions retrieved from computer-readablemedium) and software. Example operating systems include the ANDROIDmobile device platform; APPLE IPHONE/MAC OS X operating systems;MICROSOFT WINDOWS 7/WINDOWS MOBILE operating systems; SYMBIAN operatingsystem; RIM BLACKBERRY operating system; PALM WEB operating system; avariety of UNIX-flavored operating systems; or a proprietary operatingsystem for computerized devices. The operating system may provide aplatform for the execution of application programs that facilitateinteraction between the computing device and a user.

The mobile computing device 510 may present a graphical user interfacewith the touchscreen 512. A graphical user interface is a collection ofone or more graphical interface elements and may be static (e.g., thedisplay appears to remain the same over a period of time), or may bedynamic (e.g., the graphical user interface includes graphical interfaceelements that animate without user input).

A graphical interface element may be text, lines, shapes, images, orcombinations thereof. For example, a graphical interface element may bean icon that is displayed on the desktop and the icon's associated text.In some examples, a graphical interface element is selectable withuser-input. For example, a user may select a graphical interface elementby pressing a region of the touchscreen that corresponds to a display ofthe graphical interface element. In some examples, the user maymanipulate a trackball to highlight a single graphical interface elementas having focus. User-selection of a graphical interface element mayinvoke a pre-defined action by the mobile computing device. In someexamples, selectable graphical interface elements further oralternatively correspond to a button on the keyboard 504. User-selectionof the button may invoke the pre-defined action.

In some examples, the operating system provides a “desktop” userinterface that is displayed upon turning on the mobile computing device510, activating the mobile computing device 510 from a sleep state, upon“unlocking” the mobile computing device 510, or upon receivinguser-selection of the “home” button 518 c. The desktop graphicalinterface may display several icons that, when selected with user-input,invoke corresponding application programs. An invoked applicationprogram may present a graphical interface that replaces the desktopgraphical interface until the application program terminates or ishidden from view.

User-input may manipulate a sequence of mobile computing device 510operations. For example, a single-action user input (e.g., a single tapof the touchscreen, swipe across the touchscreen, contact with a button,or combination of these at a same time) may invoke an operation thatchanges a display of the user interface. Without the user-input, theuser interface may not have changed at a particular time. For example, amulti-touch user input with the touchscreen 512 may invoke a mappingapplication to “zoom-in” on a location, even though the mappingapplication may have by default zoomed-in after several seconds.

The desktop graphical interface can also display “widgets.” A widget isone or more graphical interface elements that are associated with anapplication program that has been executed, and that display on thedesktop content controlled by the executing application program. Awidget's application program may start with the mobile telephone.Further, a widget may not take focus of the full display. Instead, awidget may only “own” a small portion of the desktop, displaying contentand receiving touchscreen user-input within the portion of the desktop.

The mobile computing device 510 may include one or morelocation-identification mechanisms. A location-identification mechanismmay include a collection of hardware and software that provides theoperating system and application programs an estimate of the mobiletelephone's geographical position. A location-identification mechanismmay employ satellite-based positioning techniques, base stationtransmitting antenna identification, multiple base stationtriangulation, internet access point IP location determinations,inferential identification of a user's position based on search enginequeries, and user-supplied identification of location (e.g., by“checking in” to a location).

The mobile computing device 510 may include other application modulesand hardware. A call handling unit may receive an indication of anincoming telephone call and provide a user capabilities to answer theincoming telephone call. A media player may allow a user to listen tomusic or play movies that are stored in local memory of the mobilecomputing device 510. The mobile telephone 510 may include a digitalcamera sensor, and corresponding image and video capture and editingsoftware. An internet browser may enable the user to view content from aweb page by typing in an addresses corresponding to the web page orselecting a link to the web page.

The mobile computing device 510 may include an antenna to wirelesslycommunicate information with the base station 540. The base station 540may be one of many base stations in a collection of base stations (e.g.,a mobile telephone cellular network) that enables the mobile computingdevice 510 to maintain communication with a network 550 as the mobilecomputing device is geographically moved. The computing device 510 mayalternatively or additionally communicate with the network 550 through aWi-Fi router or a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet, USB, or FIREWIRE).The computing device 510 may also wirelessly communicate with othercomputing devices using BLUETOOTH protocols, or may employ an ad-hocwireless network.

A service provider that operates the network of base stations mayconnect the mobile computing device 510 to the network 550 to enablecommunication between the mobile computing device 510 and othercomputerized devices that provide services 560. Although the services560 may be provided over different networks (e.g., the serviceprovider's internal network, the Public Switched Telephone Network, andthe Internet), network 550 is illustrated as a single network. Theservice provider may operate a server system 552 that routes informationpackets and voice data between the mobile computing device 510 andcomputing devices associated with the services 560.

The network 550 may connect the mobile computing device 510 to thePublic Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) 562 in order to establish voiceor fax communication between the mobile computing device 510 and anothercomputing device. For example, the service provider server system 552may receive an indication from the PSTN 562 of an incoming call for themobile computing device 510. Conversely, the mobile computing device 510may send a communication to the service provider server system 552initiating a telephone call with a telephone number that is associatedwith a device accessible through the PSTN 562.

The network 550 may connect the mobile computing device 510 with a Voiceover Internet Protocol (VoIP) service 564 that routes voicecommunications over an IP network, as opposed to the PSTN. For example,a user of the mobile computing device 510 may invoke a VoIP applicationand initiate a call using the program. The service provider serversystem 552 may forward voice data from the call to a VoIP service, whichmay route the call over the internet to a corresponding computingdevice, potentially using the PSTN for a final leg of the connection.

An application store 566 may provide a user of the mobile computingdevice 510 the ability to browse a list of remotely stored applicationprograms that the user may download over the network 550 and install onthe mobile computing device 510. The application store 566 may serve asa repository of applications developed by third-party applicationdevelopers. An application program that is installed on the mobilecomputing device 510 may be able to communicate over the network 550with server systems that are designated for the application program. Forexample, a VoIP application program may be downloaded from theApplication Store 566, enabling the user to communicate with the VoIPservice 564.

The mobile computing device 510 may access content on the internet 568through network 550. For example, a user of the mobile computing device510 may invoke a web browser application that requests data from remotecomputing devices that are accessible at designated universal resourcelocations. In various examples, some of the services 560 are accessibleover the internet.

The mobile computing device may communicate with a personal computer570. For example, the personal computer 570 may be the home computer fora user of the mobile computing device 510. Thus, the user may be able tostream media from his personal computer 570. The user may also view thefile structure of his personal computer 570, and transmit selecteddocuments between the computerized devices.

A voice recognition service 572 may receive voice communication datarecorded with the mobile computing device's microphone 522, andtranslate the voice communication into corresponding textual data. Insome examples, the translated text is provided to a search engine as aweb query, and responsive search engine search results are transmittedto the mobile computing device 510.

The mobile computing device 510 may communicate with a social network574. The social network may include numerous members, some of which haveagreed to be related as acquaintances. An acquaintanceship relationshipforms between a first user and a second user of a social network inresponse to (i) the first user requesting to receive posts that aresubmitted by the second user, or (ii) the first user requesting toreceive posts that are submitted by the second user and the second userconfirming that the first user can be provided the posts by the socialnetwork. Application programs on the mobile computing device 510 mayaccess the social network 574 to retrieve information based on theacquaintances of the user of the mobile computing device. For example,an “address book” application program may retrieve telephone numbers forthe user's acquaintances. In various examples, content may be deliveredto the mobile computing device 510 based on social network distancesfrom the user to other members. For example, advertisement and newsarticle content may be selected for the user based on a level ofinteraction with such content by members that are “close” to the user(e.g., members that are “friends” or “friends of friends”).

The mobile computing device 510 may access a personal set of contacts576 through network 550. Each contact may identify an individual andinclude information about that individual (e.g., a phone number, anemail address, and a birthday). Because the set of contacts is hostedremotely to the mobile computing device 510, the user may access andmaintain the contacts 576 across several devices as a common set ofcontacts.

The mobile computing device 510 may access cloud-based applicationprograms 578. Cloud-computing provides application programs (e.g., aword processor or an email program) that are hosted remotely from themobile computing device 510, and may be accessed by the device 510 usinga web browser or a dedicated program. Example cloud-based applicationprograms include GOOGLE DOCS word processor and spreadsheet service,GOOGLE GMAIL webmail service, and PICASA picture manager.

Mapping service 580 can provide the mobile computing device 510 withstreet maps, route planning information, and satellite images. Anexample mapping service is GOOGLE MAPS. The mapping service 580 may alsoreceive queries and return location-specific results. For example, themobile computing device 510 may send an estimated location of the mobilecomputing device and a user-entered query for “pizza places” to themapping service 580. The mapping service 580 may return a street mapwith “markers” superimposed on the map that identify geographicallocations of nearby “pizza places.”

Turn-by-turn service 582 may provide the mobile computing device 510with turn-by-turn directions to a user-supplied destination. Forexample, the turn-by-turn service 582 may stream to device 510 astreet-level view of an estimated location of the device, along withdata for providing audio commands and superimposing arrows that direct auser of the device 510 to the destination.

Various forms of streaming media 584 may be requested by the mobilecomputing device 510. For example, computing device 510 may request astream for a pre-recorded video file, a live television program, or alive radio program. Example services that provide streaming mediainclude YOUTUBE and PANDORA.

A micro-blogging service 586 may receive from the mobile computingdevice 510 a user-input post that does not identify recipients of thepost. The micro-blogging service 586 may disseminate the post to othermembers of the micro-blogging service 586 that agreed to subscribe tothe user.

A search engine 588 may receive user-entered textual or verbal queriesfrom the mobile computing device 510, determine a set ofinternet-accessible documents that are responsive to the query, andprovide to the device 510 information to display a list of searchresults for the responsive documents. In examples where a verbal queryis received, the voice recognition service 572 may translate thereceived audio into a textual query that is sent to the search engine.

These and other services may be implemented in a server system 590. Aserver system may be a combination of hardware and software thatprovides a service or a set of services. For example, a set ofphysically separate and networked computerized devices may operatetogether as a logical server system unit to handle the operationsnecessary to offer a service to hundreds of individual computingdevices.

In various implementations, operations that are performed “in response”to another operation (e.g., a determination or an identification) arenot performed if the prior operation is unsuccessful (e.g., if thedetermination was not performed). Features in this document that aredescribed with conditional language may describe implementations thatare optional. In some examples, “transmitting” from a first device to asecond device includes the first device placing data into a network forreceipt by the second device, but may not include the second devicereceiving the data. Conversely, “receiving” from a first device mayinclude receiving the data from a network, but may not include the firstdevice transmitting the data.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of computing devices 600, 650 that may be usedto implement the systems and methods described in this document, aseither a client or as a server or plurality of servers. Computing device600 is intended to represent various forms of digital computers, such aslaptops, desktops, workstations, personal digital assistants, servers,blade servers, mainframes, and other appropriate computers. Computingdevice 650 is intended to represent various forms of mobile devices,such as personal digital assistants, cellular telephones, smartphones,and other similar computing devices. The components shown here, theirconnections and relationships, and their functions, are meant to beexemplary only, and are not meant to limit implementations describedand/or claimed in this document.

Computing device 600 includes a processor 602, memory 604, a storagedevice 606, a high-speed interface 608 connecting to memory 604 andhigh-speed expansion ports 610, and a low speed interface 612 connectingto low speed bus 614 and storage device 606. Each of the components 602,604, 606, 608, 610, and 612, are interconnected using various busses,and may be mounted on a common motherboard or in other manners asappropriate. The processor 602 can process instructions for executionwithin the computing device 600, including instructions stored in thememory 604 or on the storage device 606 to display graphical informationfor a GUI on an external input/output device, such as display 616coupled to high speed interface 608. In other implementations, multipleprocessors and/or multiple buses may be used, as appropriate, along withmultiple memories and types of memory. Also, multiple computing devices600 may be connected, with each device providing portions of thenecessary operations (e.g., as a server bank, a group of blade servers,or a multi-processor system).

The memory 604 stores information within the computing device 600. Inone implementation, the memory 604 is a volatile memory unit or units.In another implementation, the memory 604 is a non-volatile memory unitor units. The memory 604 may also be another form of computer-readablemedium, such as a magnetic or optical disk.

The storage device 606 is capable of providing mass storage for thecomputing device 600. In one implementation, the storage device 606 maybe or contain a computer-readable medium, such as a floppy disk device,a hard disk device, an optical disk device, or a tape device, a flashmemory or other similar solid state memory device, or an array ofdevices, including devices in a storage area network or otherconfigurations. A computer program product can be tangibly embodied inan information carrier. The computer program product may also containinstructions that, when executed, perform one or more methods, such asthose described above. The information carrier is a computer- ormachine-readable medium, such as the memory 604, the storage device 606,or memory on processor 602.

The high speed controller 608 manages bandwidth-intensive operations forthe computing device 600, while the low speed controller 612 manageslower bandwidth-intensive operations. Such allocation of functions isexemplary only. In one implementation, the high-speed controller 608 iscoupled to memory 604, display 616 (e.g., through a graphics processoror accelerator), and to high-speed expansion ports 610, which may acceptvarious expansion cards (not shown). In the implementation, low-speedcontroller 612 is coupled to storage device 606 and low-speed expansionport 614. The low-speed expansion port, which may include variouscommunication ports (e.g., USB, Bluetooth, Ethernet, wireless Ethernet)may be coupled to one or more input/output devices, such as a keyboard,a pointing device, a scanner, or a networking device such as a switch orrouter, e.g., through a network adapter.

The computing device 600 may be implemented in a number of differentforms, as shown in the figure. For example, it may be implemented as astandard server 620, or multiple times in a group of such servers. Itmay also be implemented as part of a rack server system 624. Inaddition, it may be implemented in a personal computer such as a laptopcomputer 622. Alternatively, components from computing device 600 may becombined with other components in a mobile device (not shown), such asdevice 650. Each of such devices may contain one or more of computingdevice 600, 650, and an entire system may be made up of multiplecomputing devices 600, 650 communicating with each other.

Computing device 650 includes a processor 652, memory 664, aninput/output device such as a display 654, a communication interface666, and a transceiver 668, among other components. The device 650 mayalso be provided with a storage device, such as a microdrive or otherdevice, to provide additional storage. Each of the components 650, 652,664, 654, 666, and 668, are interconnected using various buses, andseveral of the components may be mounted on a common motherboard or inother manners as appropriate.

The processor 652 can execute instructions within the computing device650, including instructions stored in the memory 664. The processor maybe implemented as a chipset of chips that include separate and multipleanalog and digital processors. Additionally, the processor may beimplemented using any of a number of architectures. For example, theprocessor 410 may be a CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computers)processor, a RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) processor, or aMISC (Minimal Instruction Set Computer) processor. The processor mayprovide, for example, for coordination of the other components of thedevice 650, such as control of user interfaces, applications run bydevice 650, and wireless communication by device 650.

Processor 652 may communicate with a user through control interface 658and display interface 656 coupled to a display 654. The display 654 maybe, for example, a TFT (Thin-Film-Transistor Liquid Crystal Display)display or an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display, or otherappropriate display technology. The display interface 656 may compriseappropriate circuitry for driving the display 654 to present graphicaland other information to a user. The control interface 658 may receivecommands from a user and convert them for submission to the processor652. In addition, an external interface 662 may be provide incommunication with processor 652, so as to enable near areacommunication of device 650 with other devices. External interface 662may provide, for example, for wired communication in someimplementations, or for wireless communication in other implementations,and multiple interfaces may also be used.

The memory 664 stores information within the computing device 650. Thememory 664 can be implemented as one or more of a computer-readablemedium or media, a volatile memory unit or units, or a non-volatilememory unit or units. Expansion memory 674 may also be provided andconnected to device 650 through expansion interface 672, which mayinclude, for example, a SIMM (Single In Line Memory Module) cardinterface. Such expansion memory 674 may provide extra storage space fordevice 650, or may also store applications or other information fordevice 650. Specifically, expansion memory 674 may include instructionsto carry out or supplement the processes described above, and mayinclude secure information also. Thus, for example, expansion memory 674may be provide as a security module for device 650, and may beprogrammed with instructions that permit secure use of device 650. Inaddition, secure applications may be provided via the SIMM cards, alongwith additional information, such as placing identifying information onthe SIMM card in a non-hackable manner.

The memory may include, for example, flash memory and/or NVRAM memory,as discussed below. In one implementation, a computer program product istangibly embodied in an information carrier. The computer programproduct contains instructions that, when executed, perform one or moremethods, such as those described above. The information carrier is acomputer- or machine-readable medium, such as the memory 664, expansionmemory 674, or memory on processor 652 that may be received, forexample, over transceiver 668 or external interface 662.

Device 650 may communicate wirelessly through communication interface666, which may include digital signal processing circuitry wherenecessary. Communication interface 666 may provide for communicationsunder various modes or protocols, such as GSM voice calls, SMS, EMS, orMMS messaging, CDMA, TDMA, PDC, WCDMA, CDMA2000, or GPRS, among others.Such communication may occur, for example, through radio-frequencytransceiver 668. In addition, short-range communication may occur, suchas using a Bluetooth, WiFi, or other such transceiver (not shown). Inaddition, GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver module 670 mayprovide additional navigation- and location-related wireless data todevice 650, which may be used as appropriate by applications running ondevice 650.

Device 650 may also communicate audibly using audio codec 660, which mayreceive spoken information from a user and convert it to usable digitalinformation. Audio codec 660 may likewise generate audible sound for auser, such as through a speaker, e.g., in a handset of device 650. Suchsound may include sound from voice telephone calls, may include recordedsound (e.g., voice messages, music files, etc.) and may also includesound generated by applications operating on device 650.

The computing device 650 may be implemented in a number of differentforms, as shown in the figure. For example, it may be implemented as acellular telephone 680. It may also be implemented as part of asmartphone 682, personal digital assistant, or other similar mobiledevice.

Additionally computing device 600 or 650 can include Universal SerialBus (USB) flash drives. The USB flash drives may store operating systemsand other applications. The USB flash drives can include input/outputcomponents, such as a wireless transmitter or USB connector that may beinserted into a USB port of another computing device.

Various implementations of the systems and techniques described here canbe realized in digital electronic circuitry, integrated circuitry,specially designed ASICs (application specific integrated circuits),computer hardware, firmware, software, and/or combinations thereof.These various implementations can include implementation in one or morecomputer programs that are executable and/or interpretable on aprogrammable system including at least one programmable processor, whichmay be special or general purpose, coupled to receive data andinstructions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a storagesystem, at least one input device, and at least one output device.

These computer programs (also known as programs, software, softwareapplications or code) include machine instructions for a programmableprocessor, and can be implemented in a high-level procedural and/orobject-oriented programming language, and/or in assembly/machinelanguage. As used herein, the terms “machine-readable medium”“computer-readable medium” refers to any computer program product,apparatus and/or device (e.g., magnetic discs, optical disks, memory,Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs)) used to provide machine instructionsand/or data to a programmable processor, including a machine-readablemedium that receives machine instructions as a machine-readable signal.The term “machine-readable signal” refers to any signal used to providemachine instructions and/or data to a programmable processor.

To provide for interaction with a user, the systems and techniquesdescribed here can be implemented on a computer having a display device(e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor)for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointingdevice (e.g., a mouse or a trackball) by which the user can provideinput to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide forinteraction with a user as well; for example, feedback provided to theuser can be any form of sensory feedback (e.g., visual feedback,auditory feedback, or tactile feedback); and input from the user can bereceived in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input.

The systems and techniques described here can be implemented in acomputing system that includes a back end component (e.g., as a dataserver), or that includes a middleware component (e.g., an applicationserver), or that includes a front end component (e.g., a client computerhaving a graphical user interface or a Web browser through which a usercan interact with an implementation of the systems and techniquesdescribed here), or any combination of such back end, middleware, orfront end components. The components of the system can be interconnectedby any form or medium of digital data communication (e.g., acommunication network). Examples of communication networks include alocal area network (“LAN”), a wide area network (“WAN”), peer-to-peernetworks (having ad-hoc or static members), grid computinginfrastructures, and the Internet.

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

Although a few implementations have been described in detail above,other modifications are possible. Moreover, other mechanisms forperforming the systems and methods described in this document may beused. In addition, the logic flows depicted in the figures do notrequire the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achievedesirable results. Other steps may be provided, or steps may beeliminated, from the described flows, and other components may be addedto, or removed from, the described systems. Accordingly, otherimplementations are within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising:receiving, through a first service, a query, wherein the query comprisesa reserved term associated with a particular second service; in responseto receiving the query, interpreting the query as being directed to anaction for the particular second service; identifying the particularsecond service; and providing a portion of the query to the particularsecond service to obtain a message for an application associated withthe particular second service, the message comprising the portion of thequery.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein theportion of the query excludes the reserved term.
 3. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first service is asearch service.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, whereinthe particular second service is a non-search service.
 5. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising sending themessage to one or more users, wherein contact information for the one ormore users is stored in a contact list on the computing device.
 6. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the particular secondservice is an e-mail service, further comprising: identifying, by thecomputing device, one or more users; and adding one or more e-mailaddresses associated with the one or more users to the message, whereinthe message is an e-mail communication.
 7. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 6, wherein the identifying comprises analyzing thereceived query for one or more users.
 8. The computer-implemented methodof claim 6, wherein the identifying comprises analyzing a contact liston the computing device or one or more users.
 9. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the particular secondservice is a note service, further comprising: storing, by the computingdevice in a note application, the message as a saved note with one ormore other saved notes.
 10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,wherein the particular second service is a note service, furthercomprising: receiving a user input to store the message in a noteapplication.
 11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein theparticular second service is a calendar service, and wherein the messagecomprises a calendar entry for a calendar application.
 12. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 11, further comprising: sending thecalendar entry to one or more users, wherein contact information for theone or more users is stored in a contact list on the computing device.13. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the particularsecond service is a restaurant reservation service, and wherein themessage comprises a request associated with a restaurant reservationapplication.
 14. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, furthercomprising converting the query from speech to text.
 15. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: determininga location associated with the computing device, wherein the messagecomprises the determined location.
 16. A computer program producttangibly embodied in a non-transitory machine-readable storage device,the computer program product including instructions that, when executed,cause operations to be performed, the operations comprising: receiving,through a first service, a query, wherein the query comprises a reservedterm associated with a particular second service; in response toreceiving the query, interpreting the query as being directed to anaction for the particular second service; identifying the particularsecond service; and providing a portion of the query to the particularsecond service to obtain a message for an application associated withthe particular second service, the message comprising the portion of thequery.
 17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the portionof the query excludes the reserved term.
 18. The computer programproduct of claim 16, wherein the first service is a search service. 19.The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the particular secondservice is a non-search service.
 20. A system comprising: a processor; astorage device coupled to the processor and configurable for storinginstructions, which, when executed by the processor cause the processorto perform operations comprising: receiving, through a first service, aquery, wherein the query comprises a reserved term associated with aparticular second service; in response to receiving the query,interpreting the query as being directed to an action for the particularsecond service; identifying the particular second service; and providinga portion of the query to the particular second service to obtain amessage for an application associated with the particular secondservice, the message comprising the portion of the query.